New Glasgow bobsledder on the fast track to the Olympics

Luke Demetre of New Glasgow runs in a 200-metre race at the 2008 NSSAF track and field championships at Metropolitan Field in Lower Sackville. These days, Demetre is competing on a different track as a member of the national bobsled team. (INGRID BULMER / Staff)

You may be hearing more about New Glasgow’s Luke Demetre in the coming years. He certainly hopes so.

The 22-year-old Demetre is trying to make it in the world of four-man bobsled. He is a member of Canada’s national team and recently got to compete in his first World Cup event in Lake Placid, N.Y., as the brakeman on Canada’s No. 3 crew.

It might not seem all that glamorous — jammed in a tin can with three other men racing down an icy run at up to 150 kilometres per hour — but there is a nice perk just ahead if Demetre can hold his spot or get better.

Canada is one of four countries eligible to send three men’s bobsled teams to World Cup competitions this year. If Canada can maintain that status, Demetre could be in line for an Olympic ride in Sochi, Russia, in 2014.

It all started when he was a student at Dalhousie in 2010. A track and field athlete for the Tigers, he was running at Saint Mary’s when he was spotted by a Canadian bobsled pilot, Halifax’s Alex Torbert, who needed a guy to join him for an America’s Cup race.

“He walked on the track,” the six-foot-two, 220-pound Demetre recounted of that meeting. “I’m a decent-sized guy, so he asked me if I wanted to try it. I thought it would be a pretty good idea not to try it.”

But he didn’t say no.

“I went to Lake Placid, tried it and fell in love with it and tried out the next year for the national bobsled team.”

Demetre’s size, strength and speed (he has run the 100 metres in 11.3 seconds) make him a perfect fit for bobsled. He has gone all in for the sport now, relocating to Calgary in April to be with the core of the Canadian team.

He doesn’t view making the move as a sacrifice.

“Bobsled is a pretty cool opportunity and I want to go to the Olympics,” he said. “So, in the long run, it’s not really a big sacrifice. But I would have liked to finish my degree before moving out.”

Bobsled is a full-time pursuit now as the team is in full swing for close to six months a year. Most of that is on the road.

This is Demetre’s third season on the national team after two seasons on a development circuit.

He competed in Lake Placid last weekend on a team piloted by Justin Kripps of Summerland, B.C. The 25-year-old Kripps is a rookie pilot this year after competing on Pierre Lueders’ four-man team at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver.

Canada’s No. 3 team was third among the Canadian sleds and 16th overall, racing down the 20-turn, 1,455-metre run in well under two minutes at 1:51.72. A Russian team won in 1:50.15.

As brakeman, it’s Demetre’s job to thrust the sled forward at the start. He’s the last to jump in.

From there, he pulls in the push bars and tucks in behind his teammates, hoping his pilot hits all his marks.

“You’re at the top, ready to go and your heart is pumping,” he said. “You’re ready to push the sled as fast as you can.”

He said the trick is to get the four people into the small space quickly and assume the proper position.

“As you’re driving down the track, you can feel all these different pressures as you go through the corners. You’re blasting down anywhere from 120 to 150 kilometres per hour. When you get to the bottom, there is just so much adrenalin pumping through you. You are just so excited to get down. You pull the brakes and that’s it.”

It may sound terrifying, and scary bobsled wrecks happen, but fear is no asset.

“The first time I did it, I was a little nervous,” Demetre said. “But once you get confident in your pilot, it makes it really easy.”

His goals are to stay among the top three sleds, maybe even moving up in rank.

“If everything stays the same, this would be an Olympic spot, but we’ve got to keep pushing, keep improving.”

Demetre’s team is competing this weekend in Park City, Utah. Other upcoming stops before Christmas are in Whistler, B.C., Germany and France.